Storage structure in particular a multi-story car park

ABSTRACT

A storage structure including a plurality of storage spaces disposed helically about a cylindrical shaft and including a lifting vehicle which is guided in the shaft so that it winds about the vertical axis of the shaft in a screw-like manner. Provided on the lifting vehicle is at least one consumer. A stowage unit is provided on the lifting vehicle or in the region of the floor of the shaft. A supply line for connecting the consumer to a supply unit is received within the stowage unit. The stowage unit is open at the top and defines a cavity which may include a winding spindle. The cavity and the winding spindle are disposed about the vertical axis of the shaft so that the supply line can be received as the lifting vehicle rotates. The outer periphery of the cavity corresponds substantially to the pitch of the helix defining the motion of the lifting vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is a storage structure, particularlya car park, with a large number of storage areas, particularly vehicleparking places, arranged helically around a cylindrical shaft, and witha lifting vehicle operated in a helical fashion in the shaft around thevertical axis, the lifting vehicle being fitted with at least oneconsumer, in particular an electrical consumer, which needs to besupplied.

Such a storage structure, designed as a car park, is known, for example,from the German patent publication of the unexamined application No.1684721. In this document, the lifting vehicle is designed as a platformwhich takes an automobile, which is advanced by gearing onto a trackwhich runs helically around the shaft. A vehicle, parked in a drive inbox, is mechanically conveyed to the platform and is then helicallyraised until it is opposite an empty parking place. The automobile ismechanically parked in the parking place. Conversely, the parkedautomobiles can be moved in the opposite sequence from the parkingplaces to the platform, and then by means of the platform to a drive-outbox.

The platform is fitted with electric motors to drive it. Additionally,the loading device, by means of which a vehicle is conveyed on to andoff the platform, also has an electromotive drive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

DE-OS 1684721, contains no description of how the electric motors fittedto the platform are to be supplied with electricity.

The object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide, indesign, a generic storage facility, an economical, reliable,low-maintenance solution for the connection to a supply unit of theconsumers which are to be fitted to the lifting vehicle.

In accordance with the present invention, this object is achieved, as afirst alternative, by means of the characteristics of claim 1. Analternative solution to the object is indicated in claim 2.

Cavities for the laying of a supply line are known from the prior art(e.g. DE-GM 9012229 1, U.S. Pat. No. 3,300,154, FR-B-1304183, andGB-B-1213037).

The invention is described below in further detail on the basis of thefirst alternative solution indicated in claim 1. The advantagesindicated below also apply to the second alternative solution.

The invention is obviously applicable to all kinds of supply lines. i.e.electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic lines, as well as water and gaslines, and also to data transmission and other control lines. Whereverreferences are made below to electrical supply lines, this indicates anillustrative application which does not restrict the invention.

The invention is such as to avoid the use of sliding contacts, which areotherwise normally used--for example, in the case of parts which areelectrically connected to each other and rotate around each other.Rather, the supply line is designed so that it is firmly connected tothe lifting vehicle at one end, and to the structure at the other end.This ensures that, in the case of an electrical supply line, supplyachieves a high degree of reliability not possible in the case ofrubbing contacts. By designing the open-top cavity that accommodates thesupply line so that its external circumference basically corresponds tothe pitch of the helix for the lifting vehicle, it is possible toachieve a completely twist-free laying of the supply line. In this way,the supply line attains a practically unlimited lifespan. The minimalstress on the supply line is also reflected in increased supplyreliability. Because the cavity in which the supply line is laid isarranged around the vertical axis of the shaft, it is possible for thesupply line to move freely without rubbing against the walls of thecavity. This also contributes to the mechanical protection of the supplyline and to an increase in its lifespan.

Assuming that the external circumference of the cavity in which thesupply line is to be stowed should "largely" correspond to the pitch ofthe helix for the lifting vehicle, it may be deduced that--depending onthe diameter of the supply line--the external circumference of thecavity may and indeed should be somewhat greater than the pitch. This isoptional when the central, neutral wire of the supply line is laid alonga circle whose circumference corresponds to the pitch in the helix inaddition to the diameter of the supply line. Only if the diameter of thesupply line is negligible relative to the pitch of the helix is thedesign optimum, meaning that the external diameter of the cavitycorresponds exactly to the pitch of the helix.

In cavities per se, the supply line is fed in a translational fashion,so that there is forced twisting of the accommodated supply line, andthe resultant mechanical strain on the supply line may considerablyshorten its lifespan. Totally twist-free laying of the supply line canonly be achieved by the combination, taught by the present invention, ofthe cavity for stowing a supply line and the helical motion of the otherend, the circumference of the circular cavity being matched to the pitchof the screw motion of the lifting vehicle.

The cavity for stowing the supply line in an annular shape isparticularly preferred. For this purpose, a central guide body and thewall demarcating the cavity from the outside is expediently designed tobe slightly greater than the diameter of the supply line. A particularlyuseful feature is the cylindrical design of the annular cavity incoaxial arrangement relative to the vertical axis of the shaft. Thisreduces to a minimum the danger that the supply line will rub againstthe walls of the annular cavity.

In the first alternative solution recited in claim 1, the cavity isadvantageously arranged below the level of the shaft floor. Evenextremely long supply lines, such as are required in the case of amulti-floor parking garage, can in this way be placed in the stowingunit when the lifting vehicle is lowered without taking up valuable roombelow the lifting vehicle. Instead, where the storage facility isdesigned accordingly, the lifting vehicle can be lowered right down tothe shaft floor.

The end of the supply line, which is attached to the lifting vehicle asper claim 1, is usefully eccentrically fixed thereto at a distance fromthe vertical axis which essentially corresponds to the radius of thesupply line stowing cavity. In this way, without using additionalguiding devices, it is possible to ensure that the supply line is stowedin and removed from the stowing unit in a particularly careful fashion.

The alternative indicated in claim 2 of the invention is to be preferredto the alternative according to claim 1 if the rotating speed of thelifting vehicle exceeds a certain value. If, when the stowing unit isarranged in the area of the shaft floor, supply line suspended from thelifting vehicle is subject to a centrifugal force when the liftingvehicle is rotating, which can hanger the orderly stowing oraccommodation of the supply line, when the stowing unit is arranged onthe lifting vehicle for a supply line suspended from the roof of thestructure, no centrifugal forces act on its freely suspended section.Additionally, the centrifugal forces that act on the supply line sectionaccommodated in the stowing unit are absorbed by the external wall ofthe stowing unit.

Even though the stowing unit design is particularly advantageous insofaras it comprises a cavity open at the top in which the supply line isstowed, as it thereby guarantees smooth stowage and accommodation of thesupply line under all marginal conditions, under the invention it isalso possible for the stowing unit to have a single spindle which endsfreely at the top, around which the supply line is stowed. Thisalternative, indicated in claims 9 and 10, may be applied, for example,if only a few turns of the feed line must be accommodated in the stowingunit. The optimum external diameter DD of the spindle can be calculatedby applying the relationships indicated above relative to the pitch (s)of the helix and the diameter (d) of the supply line as D_(D)=(s+d)/π-d.

The invention is explained below in greater detail on the basis of thediagrams.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through the first embodiment of astorage structure according to the invention, designed as a car park,

FIG. 2 shows a vertical section through a second, alternative embodimentof a storage structure according to the invention, designed as a carpark,

FIG. 3 explains the dimensioning of the stowing unit for the supplyline, used for the car park according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The structure of the car park shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 contains a largenumber of automobile parking places 1 arranged helically around acentral cylindrical shaft 2 with the vertical axis 3. Shaft 2accommodates a lifting vehicle 4. The ends of the four platforms 5 ofthis lifting vehicle are supported on a helical guide 6, which runsalong the drive-in openings of the automobile parking places 1. At theend of each platform 5 is a drive unit 8 comprising an electric motor 7.By means of these drive units, the lifting vehicle 4 can be rotatedaround the vertical axis 3, thereby performing a helical upward ordownward movement corresponding to the helical course of the guide 6. Inthis fashion, each of the platforms 5 can be placed opposite each of theautomobile parking places 1 and also opposite the drive-in box, as wellas a drive-out box (not shown).

By the present invention, the supply line 10 supplies the electricmotors 7 with electrical power and also controls them. One end of thesupply line is fixed to the bottom of the lifting vehicle 4. The supplyline 10 leads to a supply and control unit (not shown). Underneath theshaft floor 11, a stowing unit 12 is fitted to take the supply line 10.This unit includes a cup-shaped receptacle 13 for the supply line 10arranged coaxially with the parking garage vertical axis 3.

The supply line 10 coming from the supply and control unit is guidedfrom underneath into the cup-shaped receptacle 13. The dimensions of thereceptacle are such that it can accommodate the entire length of thesupply line extending from the lifting vehicle 4 when the latter iscompletely lowered. The length of the supply line suspended from thelifting vehicle can be calculated relative to the total height of thecar park; the length of the supply line between the lifting vehicle andentry into receptacle 13 must be sufficient to allow the lifting vehicleto be placed in its top position without the supply line being taught.

Determining the dimensions of receptacle 13 is described in greaterdetail below in conjunction with FIG. 3. Essentially, this involves thecircumference of the supply line loops stowed in the receptacle 13corresponding to the pitch s of the helical guide 6. The supply line 10is fixed eccentrically to the lifting vehicle. The distance between thesupply line fixing point on the lifting vehicle and the vertical axis 3corresponds to the radius of the loops accommodated in the receptacle13.

The difference between the alternative shown in FIG. 2 and that in FIG.1 is that the cup-shaped receptacle 13 for the supply line 10 isarranged in the center of the lifting vehicle 4 and not underneath thefloor 11 of the shaft 2. The supply line 10 is thus fed from roof 14 ofthe car park. Here, too, the supply line is fixed off-center; thedistance between the supply line fixing point and the vertical axis 3corresponds to the radius of the supply line loops accommodated in thereceptacle 13.

The upper edge of the receptacle 13 fans out in a tulip shape. Thisreliably and carefully "catches" the supply line 10 hanging down fromthe roof 14, even if the line should describe oscillating motions.

FIG. 3 indicates the optimum dimensioning of the receptacle 13 for thesupply line 10 which is to be stowed. In order to show therelationships, the diameter d of supply line 10 has been exaggerated.

The receptacle 13 has a cylindrical external wall 15 and a floor 16. Theexternal wall 15 demarcates the outer limits of cavity 17 whichaccommodates the supply line 10. The cavity 17 has an annular design;for this purpose a central cylindrical guide 18 is fitted in a coaxialarrangement to the axis 3. The gap left between this and the externalwall 15 is slightly greater than the diameter d of the supply line 10.

While the external wall 15 of the receptacle 13 fans out in a tulipshape at its upper end 19, the upper end 20 of the guide 18 is conicallytapered. This provides an opening for the supply line 10.

The diameter D of the cylindrical external wall 15 of receptacle 13 isthe result of the pitch s (FIG. 1) of the helical guide 6 (FIG. 1) andthe diameter d of the supply line 10 according to the following formulaD=(s+d)/π+d. The distance R, at which the corresponding end of thesupply line 10 is fixed to the roof 14 of the parking garage (FIG. 2) orto the lifting vehicle 4 (FIG. 1), from the vertical axis 3 is thereforedetermined according to the following rule: R=(s+d)/2π.

I claim:
 1. A storage structure comprising:a plurality of storage areasarranged helically to define a cylindrical shaft having a vertical axis;a lifting vehicle operating in a helical motion having a pitch (s)within the cylindrical shaft, said lifting vehicle having at least oneconsumer; a supply line fixed at one end to said lifting vehicle, saidsupply line having a diameter (d), said supply line for connecting saidat least one consumer to a supply unit; and a stowage unit disposedsubstantially about said vertical axis below said lifting vehicle, saidstowage unit having an open top and a cavity for receiving said supplyline, said stowage unit having an external circumference substantiallycorresponding to the pitch (s) of the helical motion of the liftingvehicle.
 2. The storage structure according to claim 1 wherein thecavity is cylindrical and is arranged coaxially with respect to thevertical axis of the cylindrical shaft.
 3. The storage structureaccording to claim 1 wherein said stowage unit includes a central guidewhereby the cavity has an annular design.
 4. The storage compartmentaccording to claim 3 wherein said central guide has an external diameter(D_(D)) determined by the rule D_(D) =(s+d)/π-d.
 5. The storagestructure according to claim 1 wherein said supply line is fixedeccentrically to said lifting vehicle.
 6. The storage structureaccording to claim 5 wherein said supply line is fixed to said liftingvehicle at a point that is a distance (R) from the vertical axis, thedistance (R) determined by the rule R=(s+d)/2π.
 7. The storage structureaccording to claim 1 further comprising a floor below the cylindricalshaft, said stowage unit extending beneath said floor.
 8. The storagestructure according to claim 1 wherein said stowage unit includes ancylindrical external wall having a diameter (D) determined by the ruleD=(s+d)/π+d.
 9. A storage structure comprising:a plurality of storageareas arranged helically to define a cylindrical shaft having a verticalaxis; a roof above said cylindrical shaft; a lifting vehicle operatingin a helical motion having a pitch (s) within the cylindrical shaft,said lifting vehicle having at least one consumer; a supply line fixedat one end to said roof, said supply line having a diameter (d), saidsupply line for connecting said at least one consumer to a supply unit;and a stowage unit disposed substantially about said vertical axis onsaid lifting vehicle, said stowage unit having an open top and a cavityfor receiving said supply line, said stowage unit having an externalcircumference substantially corresponding to the pitch distance (s) ofthe helical motion of said lifting vehicle.
 10. The storage structureaccording to claim 9 wherein the cavity is cylindrical and is arrangedcoaxially with respect to the vertical axis of the cylindrical shaft.11. The storage structure according to claim 9 wherein said stowage unitincludes a central guide whereby the cavity has an annular design. 12.The storage compartment according to claim 11 wherein said central guidehas an external diameter (D_(D)) determined by the rule D_(D)=(s+d)/π-d.
 13. The storage structure according to claim 9 wherein saidsupply line is fixed eccentrically to said roof.
 14. The storagestructure according to claim 13 wherein said supply line is fixed tosaid roof at a point that is a distance (R) from the vertical axis, thedistance (R) determined by the rule R=(s+d)/2π.
 15. The storagestructure according to claim 9 wherein said stowage unit includes ancylindrical external wall having a diameter (D) determined by the ruleD=(s+d)/π+d.